Mowing-machine.



No. 760,637. ATENTED MAY 24,1904.

- sg-n'. MADD'IN.

MOWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION I'ILED FEB 14, 1902 I0 MODEL.

Y WITNESSES.

11v VENTOR. v

Attorneys.

n4: mums PETERS co wow-u'ma, WASHINGTON, n. c.

- PATENTED MAY 24; 1904.

- S. D'. MADDIN. MOWING MACHINE, arrmculon nmn rm. 14, 1902.

'2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

no MODEL.

INVENTOR.

Attorneys. Y

- free to tilt at an angle thereto and whereby" UNITED STATEs SAMUEL D. 'MADDIN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF, TO MARCUS YOUNG, OF PORT HURON, MICHIGAN.

Patented ma 24, 1904.

PAT NT ()FFICE.

' IVIIQWING-MACHINE'.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,637, dated May 24, 1904." I v Application filed February 14, 1902. Serial lie- 94.011. (N0 model.) I

To all whom itmcty concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL D. MADDIN, a

citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of'Michigan, have invented certain new 7 and useful Improvements in Mowing Machines, of which the following is a specification,

reference being had therein to the accompanying'drawing's. i v

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mowingmachines,and has for its object to make a machine in which the height'or angle of the cutting apparatus may be changed at will without effecting a disarrangement of the drivemechanism and where-'5 by the load upon the machine will be reduced.

to a minimum by the useofa double knifebar driven from the opposite sides of the ma chine, whereby all side thrust and vibration due to the use of a long knife-bar will be taken up. v

I To this end the invention consists in the employment of means more fully hereinafter described, whereby the cutting apparatus is piy-' I otall'y mounted in the frame on opposite sides the knife-bar may be driven from the main supporting-wheels without disarrangement from the adjustment of the cutting apparatus,

The invention further consists in the use of -a two-part knife-bar having its line of out in approximately the samehorizontal plane, but the two parts of which are arranged above and below said plane and are driven from the opposite sides of the machineby pitmen conthe housing for the drive-gears is removed to better show the parts. Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the knife and finger bars, showingthe overlapping of the knifebars. Fig. 3 is a sectionon line a; m, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the pivoted line a 2, Fig. 5. Fig. 7- is a side elevation of the front portion of a mower.

As shown in the drawings, A is a mower of Well known construction comprising the ground-wheels BB uponthe axle G, the frame side bars D D, pivotally mounted on said axle and provided at their forward, ends with the,

caster wheels" E E, the platform F, and

I drivers seat Gr, all of usual construction.

H represents the shoes pivotally mounted in the frame near its forward end on opposite sides for floating the knife and finger bars and .drive mechanismtherefor, said shoes being 7 preferably cast in one piece comprising the base portion a, upwardly-curved front portion '5, the vertical shaft-tube a, formed with'trun-J nions cl e on opposite sides of the ribs uniting said tube with the base of theshoe, an open space 9 being left at the base of'the tube for the crank-disks h, and c is a shaftfitting in said tube, to the lower end of whichsaid crank-disk is secured and to theupper end of which is se cured thebevel-pinion j, and Z; is a bevel gear formed with said gear. The shoes H arefpiv bars by the trunnions d, fitting .in bearing apertures formed near the outer end of .the-

frame-bars, and I represents,brabe-rodscon:

, motion to the knife-bars.

.otally mounted on the outside of the frame said bars being ofa length half that of the finger-bar, so that said knife bars and sections overlap for a slight distance at their inner ends, corresponding approximately to that of the length of the stroke, and O O are pitmenrods connecting said knife-bars with the crank-' disks, preferably at the each other.

P represents the guard-fingers fast upon the finger-bar and cooperating with the knife-sections to cut the grain, all in the usual manner, the upper portion of one of said fingers at the middle of the bar extending slightly farther rearward than the others and having its lateral opening so arranged that the first half of the upper knife-section only cuts against the upper side of said opening and the lower knife-section cuts against the lower side, so that there will remain no uncut strip in the center, the first knife-section on the upper bar on one side only being sharpened on the reverse side to that of the other, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 2.

Qisasuitable casing or housingfor the bevel gear-wheels and pinions on the shoes H, and n represents upward extensions or cars formed on said housings, to which are connected the rods 0, and p is a transverse rock-shaft, to the free ends of which are connected the opposite ends of said rods, and g is a hand-lever fast on said shaft in proximity to the driver for actuating the same, so that the cutter-bar may be tilted at any desired angle or height from the ground without afi'ecting the drive mechanism in any way as the pinion 1' rolls upon the gear k about its pivot, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. Secured to the sides of the frame in front of the shoes H are the curved guide-plates R, in which said shoes are guided to prevent lateral movement and limit the vertical movement of the same.

Having thus fully described my invention, it will be seen that I obtain a machine which is simple, durable, and economical in operation, the knives being preferably so arranged that all side thrust and vibration due to the use of a long knife-bar is done away with by reason of using two light knife-bars working opposite to each other, besides which the knife or cutter bars can be tilted at any desired angle without affecting the drive mechanism.

One great advantage of my machine is that by reason of having the drive-gear, crankquarter in relation to shaft, and disk all carried by: the shoe, which travels in contact with the ground, all vibration is taken up by the ground, as it cannot very well be transmitted to the driver through the sprocket-chain, and 1 have found in other machines that this excessive vibration has been,

the cause of sore necks of the horses by reason of the vibration being transmitted through the tongue to the horses, thus rendering them unfit for use after a short time.

\Vhat I claim as my invention is 1. In a mowing-machine, the combination with the frame and shoes carried by the frame, of a finger-bar extending across the front of the frame and carried at its opposite ends by said shoes, knife-bars guided on said fingerbar with their inner ends overlapped, and separate means carried by the shoes for actuating each of said knife-bars from their respective sides.

2. In a mowing-machine, the combination with the frame, and drive mechanism, of a pair of shoes pivotally mounted in the frame, on opposite sides near its forward end, a fingerbar extending across the front of the machine and carried at its opposite ends by said shoes, knife-bars guided on said finger-bar with their inner ends overlapped and separate means actuated from the drive mechanism, carried by said shoes for actuating the knife-bars from their respective sides.

3. In a mowing-machine, the combination with the drive mechanism of a supportingframe formed with transverse bearing-apertures near its forward end, shoes formed with trunnions fitting in said apertures on opposite sides of the frame and carrying the cutting and actuating mechanism, and means within easy reach of the operator for tilting said shoes in relation to the frame without causing a dis arrangement of the drive mechanism.

4. In a mowing-machine, the combination with a frame formed with a hearing at its for ward end, of a shoe formed with a vertical shaft-tube and a trunnion projecting therefrom adapted to fit in said bearing, a shaft sleeved in said tube and carrying a bevel-pinion and a crank-disk at its upper and lower ends respectively, a bevel-gear and sprocket sleeved on said trunnion intermediate said frame and shaft-tube, said gear meshing with said pinion, and means for driving said disk through the medium of said sprocket and intermediate gearing.

5. The combination with the frame the drive wheels and sprockets, of the linger-bar in front of the driving-wheels, the shoes at the ends of the finger-bar pivotally mounted in the frame on opposite sides, the vertical crank-shafts carried by said shoes, each of said shafts carrying a crank-disk and bevelpinion at its opposite ends, bevel-gears meshing with said pinions and sprockets adjacent thereto, chains connecting said sprockets with the drive-sprockets, knife-bars guided on said finger-bar with their inner ends overlapped and pitmen connecting. the outer ends of said bars with their respective crank-disks to impart motion thereto.

6. In a mowing-machine, the combination with the drive wheels and sprockets, of the fin-' ger-bar in front of the drive-wheels, the shoes at the ends of the finger-bar integrally formed with vertical shaft-tubes and trunnions piv-' otally mounted'in bearings on the opposite sides of the frame, crank-shafts fitting in said tubes carrying crank-disks at their lower ends and bevel-pinions at their upper ends, bevelgears and sprockets integrally formed therewith'sleeved on said trunnions intermediate 1 said frame and shaft-tubes, said gears and ping ends and a central finger formed with upper and lower faces against which the inner knives of the respective bars are adapted to cut.

8. In a mowing-machine,-the combination with the frame and drive mechanism, of a pair of shoes pivotally mounted in the frame near its forward end on opposite sides and carrying the knife and finger bars, actuating mechanism for the knife-bars carried by said shoes and comprising crank-disks and pitmen con-- nected to the opposite ends of said bars respectively, gears on the shafts of said disks connected with the drive mechanism, means for tilting said shoes without affecting the operation of the drive mechanism and guides secured to the frame in'which said shoes are adapted to be guided.

9. In a mowing-machine, the combination with the'frame, of a pair of shoes pivotally mounted on the frame near its forward end on opposite sides and carrying the finger-bar, knlfe-bars and actuating mechan sm therefor,

said knife-bars being driven from their oppo' site ends and overlapping with their adjacent ends, guides carried by the frame in which said shoes are guided and means 1n proximity to the operator for tilting said shoes.

10. In a mowing-machinethe combination with the shoe and knife-bar, of a vertical shafttube formed integral with the shoe, a shaft journaled therein carrying a bevel-pinion at its upper end, and a crank-disk at its lower end connected with the knife-bar, a trunnion formed on said tube forming the pivot for the shoe, and a bevel-gear and sprocket sleeved I on said trunnion, said gear meshing-with said pinion and adapted through the medium of said shaft and pinion to impart motion to said disk and knife-bar.

- 11. In a pivoted shoe for mowing-machines,

the combination of a vertical tube integrally formed therewith, a shaft in said tube carry-' ing a bevel-pinion at its upper end and a crank-disk at its lower end adapted to be con-' nected with the cutting mechanism, a' bevelgear mounted in axial line with the pivot of the shoe and meshing with said pinion and a sprocket adjacent to said gear and adapted to impart motion thereto.

. 12. In a shoe for mowing-machines,the corn- Y bination with the base, of a vertical shaft-tube carried by the base, a shaft in said tube carrying a pinion at its upper end and a crankdisk at its lower end adapted to be connected with the cutting apparatus,a trunnion-bearing projecting from the side of said tube forming the pivotal connection with the frame and means comprising a bevel-gear and sprocket sleeved on said trunnion-bearing for imparting motion to said pinion.

13. In a mowing-machine, the combination of a shoe integrally formed with a vertical shaft-tube having trunnions formed on opposite sides, a brace-rod extending into proximity to said trunnions, one of said trunnions.

fitting in a bearing in said rod and the other trunnion fitting in a bearing in the frame, a bevel-gear and sprocket integrally formed therewith sleevedon one of said trunnions, a shaft in said shaft-tube havinga pinion meshing with said gear and a crank-disk at its lower end adapted to be connected with the cutting mechanism.-

14- In a mowing-machine, the combination with the frame, of shoes pivotally mounted in the frame on opposite sides, a finger-bar extending across the front of the machine carried by said shoes, knife-bars overlapping with their adjacent ends and driven from their opposite ends, the upper knife-bar having the inner half of its inner knife-section ground on the opposite side to that of the other sections, a

finger on said finger-bar in which said knife- IIO' sections overlap the overlapping sections cutting against the upper and lower faces of said finger respectively.

15. In a mowing-machine, the combination of two knife-bars having overlapping ends and actuating mechanism therefor, a finger-bar on which said knife-bars are adapted to travel, a finger formed with upper and lower faces against which the overlapped portions of the upper and lower knives are adapted to respectively cut, the inner half of the inner knifesection of the upper bar being ground atan I angle oppositeto that of the other sections.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. SAMUEL D, MADDIN.

" Witnesses:

O'r'ro F. BABTHEL, LEWIS E. FLANDERs. 

